Book Clubs Inside the High School

Photo taken by paige_eliz

Last spring, the teacher librarian at a local high/middle school and I partnered up to pilot book clubs in her school.  Since we weren't quite sure what grades to do it for, we ran three clubs for one month each.  Because we didn't weren't sure if the kids would be able to maintain their enthusiasm with a month between book club sessions, we decided to meet twice a month.  Once, when everyone was half way through the book, and again when everyone had finished the book.  It worked out so well that we've continued it this year.

We knew we had something good after the second meeting when the teen who'd said he never read fiction (and who came, we suspect, only because of a girl), demanded to know what the next book was. 

Books:
A lot of our choices have been based on how many copies of a book we can get.  We've used classroom sets, book club sets from my library, and sets pieced together from whatever we had sitting on our shelves.  Because we're pooling our resources, we have a lot more choice working together than we would have had on our own.

How it works:

• The grade 11-12 book club meets two Fridays a month after school.  Last year we ran it during lunch hour, but it wasn't long enough for us.  These teens are smart cookies with lots to say.  We now run it 3:30-5 pm, but it's not unusual for us to sit there talking past five.
• The grade 7-8 and 9-10 book clubs meet twice a month during school lunch hour, but we alternate months for each club.  We did the 7-8's last month, so they get a month off while we do the 9-10's, and then it's their turn again.
• I bring the cookies, pop, and books for the prize draw, the teacher librarian recruits teens and provides the pizza.

Why we do it that way:
Because it works for both of us.  Keeping book clubs to a total of four times a month makes it easier for us to find days that work for both of us.  Pro-D days, staff meetings, and library programs mean we have to be flexible.  Pooling resources keeps costs down for both of us

The teens love it, my boss is happy because our stats look good, and I get paid to talk to teens about books.  It's a win-win situation.  Of course, it also raises the library's profile in the school, which means more teens at my library. But really, I'm there for the books.